Myrlande Constant at the Fowler

Myrlande Constant, Union des Esprits Sirenes, 2020. Central Fine Gallery

Myrlande Constant, the daughter of a Vodou priest and a seamstress, worked in a Port-au-Prince sweatshop making beaded wedding dresses. Frustrated with the miserable working conditions, she became an independent artist creating "paintings" in glass beads. Featured in the 2022 Venice Biennale, Constant has her first career survey at the Fowler Museum, UCLA. "Myrlande Constant: The Work of Radiance" runs through July 16, 2023.

Myrlande Constant, Ogou Olisha Nago Nègre Jupiter Tonnerre, 2000-2010. Waterloo Center for the Arts

Constant drew on the tradition of Vodou drapos ("flags") used to appease the spirits. Drapos incorporate sequins and are almost always sewn by men. Constant used the small beads and embroidery stitches to achieve greater detail and brilliant color. 

Myrlande Constant, Ossangne Gouégui Malor, 2006-2008. Collection of Maggie Steber

Constant's subject matter spans historic and patriotic themes. Here Toussaint Louverture rides triumphant as his sword morphs into a snake. The picture implies that an Iwa (spirit) guided Toussaint to victory.

Myrlande Constant, Haïtien Lonje Men W Bay Manman W, about 2012. Collection of Eastman Capital/John H. Friedman

Catherine Flon is Haiti's Betsy Ross, credited with creating the nation's flag. Her image here can be seen as a symbolic self-portrait of the artist.

Myrlande Constant, Danbhala Hwèdo et Aïda Voir Prèface, about 1998-2001. Waterloo Center for the Arts

Myrlande Constant, Pa Pouvwa Gran Mèt la, Mèt Jean Simon Brutus, Grann Brigitte, Capitaine Jean Zombi Se Nonm Sa Yo Ki Mèt et Mètres 4 Kwen Ak Mitain Simitye, 2014-2017. Collection of Laurie K. Silverman, New York

Constant's most ambitious works are raucous crowd scenes in which supernatural beings of the Vodou pantheon mingle with mortals. In Pa Pouvwa Gran Mèt… the husband-and-wife death spirits Bawon Samedi and Grann Brijit charge the cemetery on horseback, brandishing whips against those who might exploit the dead. 

Myrlande Constant, Haiti Madi 12 Janvye 2010, 2012. Fowler Museum at UCLA

The funereal theme became real with Haiti's Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake: "On that day the city became a cemetery," said Constant. The Fowler commissioned a large work commemorating the devastation, a complex masterpiece combining allegory with the artist's eyewitness memories. Bawon Samedi and Grann Brijit reign over Port-au-Prince. Even Gede, the skull-headed trickster, weeps. 

Detail of Gede in Haiti Madi 12 Janvye 2010